The district is a major producer of the fine white wines of Friuli. Their output amounts to more than 60 per cent of the Colli Orientali’s total DOC production. 
       The dominant variety is Tocai Friulano, for which the area is the ideal habitat. 
       The origins of Tocai are much disputed but it has been widely grown in Italy and even more so in Friuli for more than two centuries. 
       The soils of the Colli Orientali del Friuli belong to the so-called “flysch di Cormòns” and consist of alternating strata of marl and sandstone. 
       The eastern hills originated geologically in the Eocene. Since then, the slow breaking up of the sediment and man’s enterprise have shaped the landscape, which is a gentle and appealing one. 
       If Tocai is the most widely diffused variety, Picolit is without doubt the most typical. From its grapes is made an extremely ancient wine, which was already being drunk in the 17th century by popes and aristocrats. 
       However, hardly 400 hectoliters of the wine is produced today. The vine is, in fact, quite difficult to cultivate and it is highly sensitive to attacks by parasites. Floral abortion, in which the flowers fail to develop into grapes, is also quite common. 
       As far as the red-grape varieties are concerned, Merlot and Cabernet are uniformly diffused. And Refosco is another vine grown in a significant degree. 

Map of the production area

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